Are Lebanon’s Institutional Framework and Public

Policies Ready for the Water-Energy-Food Nexus

Nadim Farajalla, Patricia Haydamous, Silva Kerkizian and Rana El Hajj

American University of Beirut

Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs
Climate Change and the Environment in the Arab World Program
 I – Lebanon - Stressors
• Population:
– ~ 0.7% annual growth (4, 400,000 currently, 5,200,000 by year 2030)

– Urban Population growth rate 0.9%

– Rural Population growth rate -0.2%

– Urban Population 87%

– Population density 397 persons/km2 – ranked 20th in the world

– Syrian Refugees > 1,000,000 (registered, many more unregistered)

• Increasing economic growth

• Climate Change
 I – Lebanon Stressors
• Climate Change
– Increase in temperature by 1°C along the coast
and to 2°C in the mountains by 2040,

– Increase in temperature by 3°C on the coast and

to 5°C in the mountains by 2090

– Reduction in precipitation of 10 to 20% by 2040

and 25 to 45% by 2090.

– Drought season to start earlier by as much as

one month

– Snow might decrease by as much as 70%

– Snow line could start from 1900 m by 2090

 I – Lebanon Overview
Water Energy Food/Agriculture

• Demand: • Total supply: • Global Hunger Index

• 60%agriculture • 85% thermal power <5 (range from < 5 low
• 29% domestic plants hunger level to > 30
• 11% industry • 4.5%hydropower alarming)
plants
• Total annual renewable • 10.5% neighboring • The agriculture sector
sources: 926m3/per. to countries covers ~ 20% of the food
drop to 839 m3/per. by demand
2015 • Supply is 77% of total
demand; the remaining • Lebanon imports:
• Discontinuous Supply 23% are supplied by • Cereals 80%
private generators. • Red Meat 82%
• Infrastructure - old or • Fish 75%
outdated in some areas • Dairy 37%
and poorly maintained.
• Around 15 to 20% of
people experiencing
food insecurity
 I – Lebanon Overview
40,000.00

35,000.00

30,000.00
Wheat Yield (Hg/Ha)

25,000.00

20,000.00

15,000.00

10,000.00

5,000.00

0.00

Yield (Hg/Ha) Crude oil price

II- WEF Governance

• Studying the WEF governance in terms of:

– Policymaking
– Institutional Set-up (Public)
– Strategy production
… with a focus on:
àThe Cross-cutting policies and laws
àThe Coordination Levels
II – WEF Governance
Institution Function

Ministry of Energy and Water Direct management of the water,

Ministry of Agriculture
Line Ministries
Ministry of Environment
Ministry of Economy and Trade
energy and food production sectors
Direct care for the preservation of
natural resources
Subsidies, Food safety, Regulations

Ministry of Finance Financing and Funding

Ministry of Public Health Quality of water and food safety

Indirect Link to smaller local communities for

Ministries and Ministry of Interior and Municipalities
management of smaller projects
Agencies
Use of energy and resources indirectly
affecting water, energy, and agricultural
Ministry of Industry
lands.
Food safety
Works on major water, energy and
Council for Development and Reconstruction agricultural projects that promote
development.
 Water Governance
Laws Structure Strategies
• Law 221/2000 • National Water Sector
• MOEW strategy and • MOEW Strategy 2010
policy making entity
• Regional Water • Procedure was Inclusive
• Distribution of drinking Establishments
and irrigation water at
• Includes plans on
national levels
• Litani River Authority increasing irrigated lands
• Build major water
• Local Committees and • Accounts for
facilities including
Municipalities. Environmental
dams and hill lakes
Assessment
• Protect water from
• Plans to build dams,
pollution
but does not mention
hydropower.
• License wells
 Energy Governance
Laws Structure Strategies

• Law 462/2000 • EDL policy paper

• MOEW strategy • MOEW
and policy making • Policy paper
entity • EDL circulated around for
approval
• Governs mostly the
• LCEC(alternative
electricity sector • 60% use of natural
sources of energy)
(not the energy gas and more than
sector) 12% renewables by
• Private Concessions
2020.
• Energy has been
recently introduced • Private and Semi-
• Followed up by the
under a new private Hydroelectric
National energy
council for energy • Litani River efficiency action plan.
options Authority
 Agriculture Governance
Laws
• A lot of coordination with
MOET on trade agreements
• Subsidies on beetroot and
wheat
• Green Plan deals with smaller
irrigation plans and the building
of small sized reservoirs'
Structure Strategies
• Agriculture Strategy for years
• MOA 2009 – 2014
• MOET
• Development of a new 5-year
• MOE strategy under way
• Green Plan • Ratifying and updating Laws
• LARI • Enhancing MOA’s internal
structure and MoA’s Relations
with other governmental and
non-governmental institutions
and organizations.
• Improving agriculture
infrastructure, and working on
methods that reduce trade-offs
across sectors.
• Protecting Natural Resources:
Soil, forests, biodiversity, land
management and marine life.
Distribution of Institutions by Sectors
Distribution of Actions by Sector
V - Analysis
• Personnel:
• Many Vacancies (ex. MoEW 15% of positions occupied 77 out of 505)
• Empowerment of personnel and freedom of expression

• Functionality:
• Discontinuity: no institutional memory (reliance on donor personnel e.g. UNDP’s role in many
ministries)
• No coordination protocol between institutions
• No coordination within the same ministry
• No common method for setting strategies

• Legal:
• Communications between ministries have to pass through DG/Minister

• Data:
• Quality
• Sharing
• Uniformity
VI – Recommendations

• Institutional
• Reorganize and empower the existing planning bodies within ministries
(through legal and institutional initiatives) to embark on a nexus approach to
planning

• Improve and decentralize communications between ministries

• Create a planning body or develop the capacities of planning bodies such as

councils and higher councils

• Develop the capacities of concerned stakeholders in nexus planning

• Policy
• Improve the level of integration of policies

• Improve the resource efficiency factors in the different sector strategies

THANK YOU